/cmlink/jason-lloyd-1.124754?localLinksEnabled=false
Tue, 28 Jul 2015 03:26:11 +0000http://www.ohio.com/sports/cavs/matthew-dellavedova-returns-on-one-year-deal-cavaliers-complete-trade-sending-brendan-haywood-mike-miller-to-blazers-1.611303?localLinksEnabled=false
Unable to secure a long-term deal to his liking in free agency, Matthew Dellavedova instead accepted the Cavaliers’ qualifying offer and will return next season on a one-year deal worth about $1.1 million.

The Cavs on Monday officially announced Dellavedova’s return and the trade sending Brendan Haywood and Mike Miller to the Portland Trail Blazers, along with draft picks, in an effort to create roster flexibility and two trade exceptions worth roughly $10.6 million and $2.95 million.

Terms of Dellavedova’s deal were not made public, but a league source, speaking on condition of anonymity since the numbers were not released, confirmed Dellavedova indeed accepted the qualifying offer.

Dellavedova searched for a month in free agency, but league executives attending the NBA’s summer league in Las Vegas recently believed his restricted status hindered his ability to obtain a deal from another team. His status won’t change next summer. Since Dellavedova has only completed two years in the NBA, under league rules he will again be a restricted free agent next summer. He doesn’t qualify for unrestricted free agency until 2017.

Dellavedova averaged 4.8 points and three assists in 67 games last season (13 starts). He shot 41 percent from the 3-point line and became a fan favorite during a memorable postseason run when he replaced an injured Kyrie Irving in the starting lineup.

However, he was outscored 62-6 in the last two games of the NBA Finals and likely remains best-suited as a third point guard in the NBA. He served as the Cavs’ primary backup most of last season despite the team’s best efforts to upgrade the position at the trade deadline. They finally accomplished it earlier this month with the return of Mo Williams, meaning Dellavedova will serve as the third point guard next season provided everyone stays healthy.

The Cavs now have signed contracts or oral agreements with 11 players. They still must resolve Tristan Thompson’s restricted free agency and decide whether or not to re-sign J.R Smith, who is an unrestricted free agent.

Both Haywood and Miller were traded to the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday, along with two second-round picks in exchange for cash, a league source told the Beacon Journal. The move creates two trade exceptions for the Cavaliers — a roughly $10.6 million exception for Haywood and a nearly $3 million exception for Miller. They cannot be combined, but they will give the Cavs both roster and financial flexibility at February’s trade deadline (or sooner). The Cavs will have one year to use the exceptions.

The Cavs will send the Blazers the more favorable of their two 2019 second-round picks, which previously belonged to the Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves. The Cavs will also send their own second-round pick in 2020.

The move of Haywood had long been expected, and in recent weeks it became apparent the Cavs would deal him to either the Blazers or the Philadelphia 76ers (the only two teams with enough cap space to take him) to create the trade exception. The addition of Miller to the deal was a mild surprise, but the source with knowledge of the negotiations, speaking on the condition of anonymity given the sensitive nature of trade talks, said LeBron James was fine with the move and that Miller had asked for it.

Miller exercised his $2.85 million player option earlier this month, then approached the Cavs asking for a way out. Miller wasn’t going to find that much money on the open market, so electing to pick up the option was wise. But he wanted a chance to play after never really fitting into coach David Blatt’s rotation last season.

Miller, 35, appeared in just 52 games last season after playing in all 82 games the year before with the Memphis Grizzlies. He shot 33 percent from 3-point range and made just 32 3-pointers, his lowest total in 12 years.

ESPN reported the Blazers are likely to release Miller or buy out his contract, clearing the way for him to sign with a team of his choice. ESPN also reported the early contenders are a return to the Grizzlies, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Dallas Mavericks. Under league rules, Miller cannot return to the Cavs for one year.

The trade gives the Cavs the league’s largest trade exception this season, while also slashing their tax bill. The final figures won’t be known until decisions are made on Tristan Thompson, J.R. Smith and Matthew Dellavedova, but ESPN reported the Cavs at least temporarily slashed their luxury tax bill from $32 million to less than $5 million with the deal. That figure is expected to rise again, however, once the remaining free agents are signed.

Regardless, moving Miller could save the Cavs as much as about $10 million in luxury taxes.

Sunday’s deal, coupled with the recent trade of rookie Rakeem Christmas to the Indiana Pacers, leaves the Cavs with agreements or signed contracts with 10 players. That number doesn’t include Smith, Thompson or Dellavedova. The Cavs also have the draft rights to Sir’Dominic Pointer, considered a longshot to make the team, and Russian Sasha Kaun, who could debut in the NBA this season.

Since there seems to be confusion surrounding trade exceptions, here is a simple primer. The Cavs dug two holes tonight in trading Brendan Haywood and Mike Miller to the Portland Trail Blazers. One can be filled by a player (or players) making up to about $10.6 million in salary and the other by a player (or players) making up to $2.95 million in salary.

Put another way, there's this:

@JasonLloydABJ just say the Cavs made a trade for 2 gift cards to use sometime within a yr.

The exceptions cannot be combined and they cannot be used to sign a free agent. They can only be used in a trade or a waiver claim and they expire in one year.

Since the Cavs are so far over the salary cap, such tools are obviously helpful. But many (most) trade exceptions created in the NBA go unfilled. The Cavs will view these (particularly the big one created by Haywood) as insurance policies in case injuries strike or something unforeseen happens (such as an inability to sign J.R. Smith).

But unless a team is trying to simply dump a high-priced player, if it’s actually a player who holds value around the league, the Cavs will need to attach an asset. The trade exception is merely the slot to fit the salary. The Cavs will still have to come up with something another team actually wants, and that’s where things get tricky. They simply don’t have many trade assets left.

Since the Cavs already traded their first-round pick in next summer’s draft, league rules prohibit them from also trading their first-round pick in 2017. That means their first available first-round pick to trade is in 2018. That will likely be the Cavs’ best trade chip at February’s deadline.

The Cavs, incidentally, don’t have any picks in next summer’s draft. They don’t own any second-round picks until 2019, and even then it will be the lesser of the second rounders from the Los Angeles Lakers and the Minnesota Timberwolves. That is their only second-round pick between now and 2021. They needed to send two second-rounders (one in 2019, one in 2020) to the Blazers on Sunday to complete this deal. The Blazers will release Haywood prior to Saturday (or trade him again) and will likely also release Miller, essentially obtaining two future second-round picks to rent out their cap space for a few hours and eat Miller’s $2.8 million salary – or whatever figure the two sides agree upon if Miller gets a buyout. The Blazers are well below the cap and don’t have to worry about paying luxury taxes.

Miller owned a player option and picked it up earlier this month because no one else was going to give him that much money after the season he had in Cleveland. Then Miller asked the Cavs to move him, one source with knowledge of the discussions said. The Cavs could’ve simply bought out his contract and released him like the Blazers will probably do, but they still would’ve had to pay luxury taxes on his buyout figure.

The Cavs decided surrendering a second-round pick five years from now was worth it to dump all of Miller’s money and potentially save as much as $10 million in taxes.

One final note: Don't be surprised if the Cavs carry less than a full 15-man roster this season, or start the season with one or two non-guaranteed contracts for practice purposes, then release them before their contracts become guaranteed in January. Teams typically slow their practice schedules by then and the non-guaranteed dollars, if relased prior to the guarantee date, won't count against the final cap figure.

]]>1.611186Mon, 27 Jul 2015 03:58:00 +0000http://www.ohio.com/sports/cavs/cavs-trade-rakeem-christmas-to-clear-cap-space-recoup-draft-pick-1.610465?localLinksEnabled=false
Now that the majority of the roster is intact, the Cavaliers are busy cleaning up the bottom half of the salary cap as much as possible. They’re also trying to recoup much-needed draft picks for future moves, particularly the Brendan Haywood trade likely coming next week.

The Cavs dealt Rakeem Christmas, selected 36th overall last month, to the Indiana Pacers on Thursday in exchange for the Los Angeles Lakers’ 2019 second-round pick. On the surface, it doesn’t make much sense to trade the sixth pick in the second round for a second-round pick four years from now, but the Cavs are leery of paying guys who likely won’t contribute this season given the massive tax ramifications.

Even a $1 million salary could carry between $5 and $7 million in luxury taxes for the Cavs. Dealing Christmas now saves money, frees up a roster spot and recoups a draft pick for a franchise depleted of picks.

The Cavs also acquired a 2019 second-round pick from the Minnesota Timberwolves on draft night. That pick, coupled with this Lakers pick, are the only second rounders the Cavs own between now and 2020.

The likelihood the Cavs deal Haywood between now and July 31 to create a $10.5 million trade exception grows with each passing day. But the Cavs need an asset to attach to Haywood as incentive for another team to help create the trade exception. The Portland Trail Blazers and Philadelphia 76ers are the only remaining teams with enough cap space to facilitate a Haywood deal — the Sixers made a similar move with the Cavs last fall to create a trade exception that ultimately brought Timofey Mozgov.

The Cavs can use one of these recently-acquired second-round picks to create the trade exception and still have one left over to use at the February trade deadline. Or they can use the trade exception earlier if negotiations with J.R. Smith crumble.

The Cavs don’t seem inclined to enter into a long-term deal with Smith, but if a one-year agreement can be reached Smith will likely return. If the two sides can’t agree, the Cavs could quickly use the trade exception created by Haywood’s contract to find another shooter on the trade market. The preference at this point, however, seems to be to hold onto the trade exception until February.

As for Christmas, the Cavs drafted him hopeful, but not certain, their entire frontcourt would return intact. Now that Kevin Love has re-signed and Tristan Thompson is expected to return next season in some capacity, Christmas was going to be a fifth big man who spent plenty of time in Canton with the Charge.

Now his departure clears the way for a possible deal with Sasha Kaun, the 30-year-old center who has spent his entire career overseas and is more likely than Christmas to help the Cavs next season. The Cavs hold Kaun’s rights and can sign him to serve as the fifth big man or they could elect to leave a roster spot open for tax purposes.

The Cavs also on Thursday agreed to another league minimum contract for James Jones, a league source said. Jones’ agreement means the Cavs now have verbal agreements or signed contracts with 11 players. That doesn’t include Smith, Thompson and Matthew Dellavedova. The latter two remain restricted free agents.

]]>1.610465Fri, 24 Jul 2015 10:47:37 +0000http://www.ohio.com/sports/cavs/cavaliers-expected-to-sign-free-agent-forward-richard-jefferson-1.609952?localLinksEnabled=false
The Cavaliers went back to Dallas to find another small forward. They hope this one has a little more left than the last one.

Richard Jefferson is expected to sign a one-year deal with the Cavs for the veteran’s minimum, a league source confirmed. Jefferson, 35, shot 43 percent from 3-point range primarily as a reserve last season with the Dallas Mavericks.

Jefferson quickly agreed to a deal to return to the Mavericks for the veteran’s minimum at the start of free agency and even helped the Mavericks in their recruitment of free-agent center DeAndre Jordan. But when the Mavericks’ deal with Jordan fell through, the Mavs allowed Jefferson to seek a better situation.

Jefferson chose the Cavs and will fill the spot vacated by the retirement of Shawn Marion, who coincidentally also came to the Cavs last season from the Mavericks. Marion disappointed in his one season and ultimately retired. Now Jefferson will be tasked with filling the role of the backup to LeBron James.

The 6-foot-7 Jefferson appeared in 74 games for the Mavericks last season, including 18 starts. He averaged 5.8 points per game and is a career 38 percent 3-point shooter, although he has shot better than 40 percent each of his last two years. This will be his fifth team in as many years.

Jefferson will earn about $1.5 million this season, but the tax hit on the Cavs could be more than double the salary.

Assuming the Cavs will get something worked out with Tristan Thompson, they now have agreements with 12 players for next season. That doesn’t include Brendan Haywood, who is under contract, but is expected to be dealt within the next 10 days.

That leaves three open roster spots with Matthew Dellavedova and J.R. Smith unsigned, along with rookies Rakeem Christmas and Sir’Dominic Pointer.

Pointer, a small forward, was always considered a long shot to make the team and Jefferson’s agreement only confirms that. Christmas still has a chance to make the final roster as a fifth big man, although the Cavs also own the rights to Russian center Sasha Kaun.

The Cavs remain in a stalemate with Smith and Thompson, although they seem to hold leverage with Smith.

Few teams left have the cap space to offer him the type of deal he declined when he opted out of the final year of a contract that would’ve paid him more than $6 million next season.

Richard Jefferson is expected to sign a one-year deal with the Cavaliers for the veteran’s minimum, a league source confirmed. Jefferson, 35, shot 43 percent from 3-point range primarily as a reserve last season with the Dallas Mavericks.

Jefferson was widely expected to return to the Mavericks, but when their deal with free agent center DeAndre Jordan fell through, the Mavs allowed their other free agents to shop elsewhere again if they could find a better situation to win.

Jefferson chose the Cavs and will fill the spot vacated by the retirement of Shawn Marion, who coincidentally also came to Cleveland last season from the Mavericks. Jefferson will serve as a backup small forward to LeBron James after he appeared in 74 games last season, including 18 starts with the Mavericks. He averaged 5.8 points per game and is a career 38 percent 3-point shooter, although he has shot better than 40 percent each of his last two years. This will be his fifth team in as many years.

LeBron James won an ESPY Wednesday night for Best Championship Performance despite the Cavaliers losing the NBA Finals to the Golden State Warriors in six games.

James averaged 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds and 8.8 assists, becoming the first player in history to produce those numbers in a Finals series. He narrowly missed winning the Finals Most Valuable Player award in a losing effort, losing to the Warriors’ Andre Iguodala by a 7-4 vote.

“Second place got me this. This wasn’t expected at all,” he said. “I’ll take this second-place award. I’ll take it to my house, too.”

James beat San Francisco Giants pitcher and World Series Most Valuable Player Madison Bumgarner, Triple Crown winner American Pharoah and pitcher Lauren Haeger, who led the Florida Gators to an NCAA softball national championship.

It has been a busy few days for James, who made the cross-country flight from New York to Los Angeles for Wednesday’s show after appearing on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday to promote his new film Trainwreck. James was nominated for two other ESPYs – Best Male Athlete and Best NBA Player. He was beaten out for Best NBA Player by the Warriors’ Steph Curry, who also won the regular season MVP award, but did not earn one vote in Finals MVP balloting.

]]>1.608503Thu, 16 Jul 2015 01:30:00 +0000http://www.ohio.com/sports/cavs/cavaliers-draft-picks-rakeem-christmas-sir-dominic-pointer-face-uphill-battle-to-make-roster-1.607744?localLinksEnabled=false
LAS VEGAS: Sir’Dominic Pointer knew early on he was limited in what he could do offensively, so he focused on defense. He guarded at every level, earning the Big East co-Defensive Player of the Year as a senior at St. John’s.

“I was trying to make it as a freshman and they finally gave it to me my senior year,” Pointer said. “But they only gave me half of it.”

Now he’s defending something else completely — a roster spot. And it might just be a losing battle.

Pointer was selected 53rd overall in last month’s draft based primarily on his ability to defend. A spot in the Development League seems likely, although general manager David Griffin left the door cracked slightly Saturday when he said one of the remaining priorities is finding a wing to back up LeBron James, adding he’ll be watching summer league games to see if the answer presents itself.

It likely doesn’t, but at 6-foot-6 and 192 pounds, Dominic has the size to play small forward. Now he needs offensive refinement.

“I was never a great offensive player as a kid, so to get on the floor I had to play defense,” Pointer said. “My offense came along later and is still developing.”

Pointer averaged 13.7 points his senior year, nearly double his scoring average in any of his three previous seasons, and he shot a career-best 52 percent. But he only made 2-of-25 3-pointers and has spent the summer refining his shot.

Rakeem Christmas, the 6-9 forward/center drafted with the sixth pick in the second round, seems to have better odds of surviving the final cuts. The Cavs lost two bigs from last season in Kendrick Perkins and Brendan Haywood, so Christmas could conceivably step in as the fourth big behind Kevin Love, Timofey Mozgov and the still-unsigned Tristan Thompson.

Christmas, like Pointer, was a co-Defensive Player of the Year of his conference (ACC) and enjoyed by far his finest offensive season as a senior. Christmas averaged 17.5 points and 9.1 rebounds during his senior year, nearly tripling his scoring total from his junior season when he had upperclassmen playing in front of him.

“I just had to wait my turn,” Christmas said. “I had a lot of people ahead of me my sophomore and junior years. Coach (Jim) Boeheim brought me in for my senior year and said, ‘It’s your team this year, you have to be ready for it.’ That’s what I did.”

Christmas struggled in his first summer league game Friday night, shooting 1-of-9 and grabbing one rebound as the starting center. He settled down a bit in his second game Saturday, scoring eight points and grabbing four rebounds on 2-of-4 shooting.

Pointer had three points, three rebounds and two blocks in his summer league debut, although he committed four turnovers in 16 minutes. Pointer had four points and three rebounds in the Cavs’ loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday.

If the Cavs return their top 12 players from last season, as expected, there will be three open roster spots. Mo Williams already has one of them, Griffin would like a wing to fill the second and likely a big to fill the third.

“Obviously this is a good fit for me,” Pointer said. “Being one of the 60 drafted is an honor and blessing. I just have to go in with the best mindset possible. There’s open spots.”

LAS VEGAS: Cavs general manager David Griffin is hopeful a deal with Tristan Thompson will eventually be struck, although it’s clear the sides remain apart, he believes there are more opportunities to use Kevin Love’s skillset within the offense and he’d like to find a wing to back up LeBron James and ease some of his burden.

Griffin addressed all of these issues and more (Kyrie Irving, Love and Anderson Varejao should all be healthy for the start of training camp) in a wide-ranging interview Saturday night during summer league. But the most pressing issue is Thompson, who remains a restricted free agent and unsigned.

Griffin all but confirmed an earlier report the Cavs were offering Thompson around $80 million when he said the Cavs will have three max players on the roster and “one near max player.” Thompson would qualify as the near max player, but the two sides have failed to reach an agreement two weeks into free agency. Griffin said he hopes the two sides can strike a deal.

Thompson’s options appear limited, particularly since James has already signed his new deal. If the Oklahoma City Thunder match an offer sheet provided to Enes Kanter from the Portland Trail Blazers, then the Blazers would be the only remaining team with the cap space to make Thompson an offer comparable to the Cavs. The Cavs would then have the right to match it.

Otherwise, Thompson would have to sign a one-year qualifying offer worth about $7 million and bet on himself next summer in unrestricted free agency – while leaving at least $73 million on the table.

The Cavs’ October offer was reportedly for four years and $52 million, while the current offer is believed to be for five years and in the $80 million neighborhood. If those figures are accurate, the Cavs are already offering another year (now allowable under the collective bargaining agreement; it wasn’t in October) and an additional $3 million per season. The question remains if he could make even more in unrestricted free agency next summer when the salary cap explodes.

Thompson is durable and among the league leaders in consecutive games played, but leaving that much money on the table next season is clearly risky.

Despite multiple requests, the Cavs declined to make coach David Blatt available each of the first two days of summer league, so Griffin addressed reporters instead...

On the free agency of J.R. Smith and Matthew Dellavedova: “We’d like to bring both of them back if it can be worked out. In Delly’s case the restricted free agency is a totally different process. With J.R. … he’s a player I’d like to have back. We just have to find a way to make it work.”

On Love’s quick extension agreement: “All of the media stuff that was out there about him and L.A. and all these other things was just so asinine. There was no truth to any of that. Nothing that was being written about him having eyes for someplace else was ever in conjunction with what he was saying to us. Everything he did was exactly what he was saying all along.”

On using Love differently to take better advantage of his vast skillset: “I think he and Coach have had a lot of conversations about that. He and Bron have had conversations about that. Kevin enables us to have somebody else carry the mail when LeBron sits down once in a while. Kyrie was in a situation where he was clearly the one who was taking over when LeBron was out and I think we probably didn’t utilize Kevin enough to make Kyrie’s job easier. I think we have the ability to put him at the elbow and run offense through him a lot more than we did – some of the things he did really well in Minnesota.”

On Love’s relationship with the organization: “Our meeting postseason with the exit interview with him was fantastic. He was really forthcoming about the things he feels he could do better and the things we could’ve done better for him. But he was never even entertaining the idea of taking a visit anywhere or anything else. From that standpoint I’m grateful he felt that way about the organization. Obviously the (poolside) meeting he had with LeBron was critical. Their relationship has really improved. Nobody would’ve ever said they had a bad relationship, but it can never be good enough either. I think that was a real promising thing for us.”

On the return of Mo Williams: “For me the beauty of Mo is more in his floor spacing and shooting even more than his play creation. Now if we’re in the situation we were in the Finals last year we’re going to need the ability to break people down. But we’ve already got three really ball dominant, special play creator types so I see him playing off the ball a good amount, too. He enables us to do the same thing with Kyrie.

“Mo’s signing is a really big deal for us. It really gives us a level of versatility I wish we had in the Finals.”

On James re-signing so quickly: "He was pretty clear at the end of the season he felt like we had enough to win the championship if we were healthy. He was pleased with the way we built the team and things that were in place for him and he acted on that, which was great."

On whether there is a ceiling to how high the payroll can go: “I don’t think it’s about a ceiling as much as it’s about flexibility and the ability to act on opportunity. You don’t want to be spending money like a drunken sailor, either. It needs to be money that’s warranted. If the right opportunity presents itself we’re still in a mode where we’ll capitalize on it. But we’re also not trying to manufacture the same opportunity (as when they acquired Brendan Haywood’s $10.5 million non-guaranteed deal).”

On Haywood’s contract: “When we acquired the Brendan Haywood contract we didn’t have three max players and one near max player on our books. You needed the vehicle to go get a sign-and-trade (in free agency). Well now we can’t even receive a sign-and-trade guy because we’re so far over the apron, we couldn’t do anything to get under the apron so it didn’t enable us to go into this free agent market and do a sign-and-trade with anyone.

“Last year we were really successful toward the end of the season because we had incredible flexibility in the middle of the season and our cap guys had found a way to create the trade exception that enabled us to get (Timofey) Mozgov. If I could have a trade exception in January that enables us to identify our real needs and based on where we’re at with health and all that, I’d love to have that. We have to weigh every opportunity that’s presented to you and say, ‘Is this better than being able to call our shot in the middle of the year?’ That’s really kind of where we’re at right now.”

On all the trade targets that have been mentioned in conjunction with the Haywood contract: “If the names were such that we were willing to take them and not the flexibility (of a trade exception) we would. Right now there hasn’t been a name that’s been available that’s worth using that flexibility.”

Remaining positions of need: “I think if you look at our roster, even if you have J.R. we still need the 3 behind LeBron, someone who consistently takes some burden off him. We’re watching summer league to see if there’s the right piece there, we’re looking at the free agent pool and seeing if there’s a piece that makes sense there as well. We’re obviously limited in the vehicles we have to sign anybody. There’s high value targets you can’t afford because we just don’t have the vehicle to get them. Not being able to do a sign-and-trade hampered us quite a bit.”

On the rehabs of Anderson Varejao, Irving and Love from season-ending injuries: “We think we’ll have everybody healthy for camp. … Kyrie is rehabbing well. He’s in Miami (his agent lives there). He’s doing really well with his rehab. He feels very good. He would be certainly on pace right now for what we need him to do. Andy similarly feels very good. He actually wanted to try to dress in the Finals and wasn’t real happy that we didn’t let him do it. I anticipate he’ll be ready for the start of camp.”

]]>1.607517Sun, 12 Jul 2015 05:15:00 +0000http://www.ohio.com/blogs/cleveland-cavaliers/cleveland-cavaliers-1.275356/joe-harris-struggles-again-cavs-fall-to-nets-76-75-in-summer-league-1.607516?localLinksEnabled=false
LAS VEGAS: Joe Harris missed a shot at the buzzer, when he appeared to be fouled, and the Cavs fell to the Brooklyn Nets 76-75 in their second summer league game of the season Saturday night.

Harris’ tough start to summer league continued with another 2 of 10 shooting performance. He scored eight points and committed three turnovers, although he seemed to be fouled on the final shot with no call.

Second-round pick Rakeem Christmas had eight points and four rebounds on 2 of 4 shooting after a 1 of 9 debut on Friday. Fellow second-round pick Sir’Dominic Pointer had four points and three rebounds.

Jerrelle Benimon, a second-year forward out of Towson, had 11 points and 12 rebounds as the starting power forward.

The Cavs, now 0-2 in this preliminary round, will face the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday.

]]>1.607516Sun, 12 Jul 2015 04:46:00 +0000http://www.ohio.com/sports/cavs/jason-lloyd-cavaliers-might-be-best-served-rolling-brendan-haywood-s-contract-into-trade-exception-1.607405?localLinksEnabled=false
LAS VEGAS: The Cavaliers team plane was sitting on the tarmac at Hopkins airport ready to depart for Washington, D.C., when the 3 p.m. trade deadline passed in February.

A relieved Brendan Haywood, who had been furiously checking his phone for updates, was relieved when his name was never mentioned. He joked to hurry up and close the door, shut off the Wi-Fi and get the plane in the air.

He won’t be so fortunate this time.

Another deadline is looming for Haywood, one that most assuredly signals his end with the Cavs. His $10.5 million contract for this season becomes guaranteed on Aug. 1, leaving the team a little less than three weeks to move him.

Despite reports of trade talks with the San Antonio Spurs, Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Clippers, the emerging reality is the Cavs probably won’t make a big move with the contract at all.

The team thought the value would be much different when they acquired it during last summer’s draft, but that was before LeBron James returned and Kevin Love arrived. Technically, Haywood’s unique contract was acquired even before Kyrie Irving agreed to his max extension. Almost overnight, the Cavs went from no max players to three, and depending on what happens with the Tristan Thompson negotiations, they could have close to four max players by the start of next season.

The soaring tax bill associated with that has impacted how the Cavs can use Haywood’s deal, and realistically there aren’t many trade matches right now. While Joe Johnson looks nice on paper, Iman Shumpert likely fits this starting lineup better for what the Cavs need out of the position, and $20 million is a lot to pay a bench player. It’s a moot point now, anyway.

After the Nets bought out the remainder of Deron Williams’ contract on Saturday, they’re now under the tax threshold and no longer have a real urgency to trade Johnson. The vast majority of executives polled during summer league believe Johnson is now off the trade market because the Nets really didn’t want to move him anyway.

Jamal Crawford, however, remains available.

Despite insistence from the Clippers to the contrary, league executives in Las Vegas believe they would be willing to part with Crawford, who has been linked to the Cavs in trade talks.

But the optimism surrounding the Cavs and J.R. Smith striking a new deal renders a move for Crawford unnecessary at this point, particularly considering what it would cost the team in luxury taxes. If Smith departs in free agency, the need for Crawford increases.

James made clear his desire during the red carpet premiere of his Hollywood film Trainwreck.

“We’ve got to re-sign Tristan,” James said Friday. “Hopefully, we can bring back J.R. [Smith] as well.”

If James, who initially endorsed the trade for Smith, wants him back despite his dismal Finals performance, then Smith is a strong candidate to return.

So where does that realistically leave the Cavs regarding Haywood? Probably turning his contract into a second-round pick or a trade exception.

It’s unrealistic the Cavs could fetch a first-round pick for Haywood unless they absorbed bad money. There just isn’t much of that around the league right now and, besides, that doesn’t seem likely from the Cavs’ perspective given the tax ramifications.

A second-round pick is feasible. The Cavs don’t have any draft picks next summer and don’t own a second rounder until 2019. But a trade exception could be the most effective route.

By trading Haywood to a team like the Philadelphia 76ers, who have made similar moves with the Cavs recently, they can turn Haywood into a $10.5 million trade exception to hold for another year as sort of an insurance policy in case anyone is injured.

The Sixers would immediately release Haywood (or trade him again), not owe him a dime, and probably gain a future second-round pick for the paperwork.

It isn’t sexy, it isn’t Tiago Splitter or Johnson or Crawford. But the stated goal at the start of this process was to retain last season’s nucleus. If that happens, and they’ve already upgraded the backup point guard position with Mo Williams, there aren’t any glaring needs left.

A trade exception buys more time and protects against injury. At this point, it might be the safest, most prudent and financially sound way to go.

]]>1.607405Sun, 12 Jul 2015 03:07:43 +0000http://www.ohio.com/blogs/cleveland-cavaliers/cleveland-cavaliers-1.275356/harris-christmas-struggle-shooting-cavs-fall-to-warriors-83-75-in-summer-league-1.607400?localLinksEnabled=false
LAS VEGAS: Joe Harris and Rakeem Christmas, two of the more recent draft picks for the Cavs, combined to shoot 3 of 19 and the Cavs fell to the Golden State Warriors 83-75 Friday night in their first summer league game.

Harris scored six points, shot 2 of 10 and missed all four of his 3-point attempts. Christmas, drafted 36th overall last month, scored six points, shot 1 of 9 and grabbed one rebound as the starting center.

Summer league invite Tyler Haws scored 12 points and made all three of his 3-point attempts and Keifer Sykes scored 11 for the Cavs, who play the Brooklyn Nets Saturday night (10 p.m. EDT).

Sir'Dominic Pointer, drafted 53rd overall, had three points, three rebounds and two blocks, although he committed four turnovers in 16 minutes.

Former Ohio State star Aaron Craft had nine points and seven assists for the Warriors.

]]>1.607400Sat, 11 Jul 2015 05:04:00 +0000http://www.ohio.com/sports/cavs/nba-summer-league-larry-nance-jr-s-unexpected-rise-to-first-round-pick-leaves-him-facing-difficult-training-camp-1.607212?localLinksEnabled=false
LAS VEGAS: Larry Nance Jr. was home watching the NBA Draft with his family and girlfriend when the Los Angeles Lakers were on the clock with the 27th pick. Nance, oblivious that he was under consideration to be selected so high, turned to his parents and uttered the same tale a number of former Cavs players know so well.

His parents quickly reassured him he wasn’t going to Los Angeles, anyway. No one — not even Nance Jr. nor his parents — actually believed he would be a first-round pick.

Surprise.

“I knew I had a good workout in L.A., but I didn’t even know I was under consideration,” Nance said. “Nobody told me, which was awesome. I got to actually experience it and hear my name called. My parents were even [surprised]. It was a shock. I couldn’t ask to be in a better place.”

Nance, the former Revere High School star, didn’t know the Lakers were selecting him until he watched it on television. Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak called immediately after his name was called, but wanted him to have that moment first.

Nance steadily climbed draft boards throughout his senior season at Wyoming. He was a marginal draft prospect at the start of the year, with multiple NBA talent evaluators questioning whether he’d be drafted at all. Then he led the Cowboys in scoring (16.1 points) and rebounds (7.2) as a senior and guided the school to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 13 years.

All the while, the Lakers were watching.

“There wasn’t a whole lot of [attention] going on with him,” said Scott, a former Cavaliers coach. “Then after every workout he had, he just started being one of those guys that people started thinking about.”

Scott and the Lakers thought Nance stood out in three areas: athleticism, energy and his basketball IQ. The latter could at least in part be attributed to growing up as the son of NBA star Larry Nance Sr.

Scott played against Nance Sr. for years and then had a chance to get to know Nance and his family better while Scott was coach of the Cavs. The DNA played at least a small role in the pick, Scott conceded, but the Lakers were more impressed with his on-court ability.

“I love him,” Scott said. “He loves doing all three of those things and he’s pretty good with the ball as far as decision making.”

Nance has not yet met Kobe Bryant, but the two have spoken. Nance, without prompting, mentioned again the tweet he sent three years ago referring to Bryant as a “rapist” and said he still feels badly about the incident even though Bryant insisted it wasn’t a big deal.

“It speaks to his character that he forgave me,” Nance said, “because I’m still upset about it myself.”

The Lakers have already held a mini training camp for the rookies, but the worst is yet to come. Camp Scott is legendary as one of the toughest training camps in the NBA. When he was in Cleveland, Scott even positioned garbage cans on the court for any players who may have needed them from all the running.

It was only a few minutes after Nance Jr. was drafted and the family celebrated that his younger brother, Pete, reminded Nance of what lies ahead.

]]>1.607212Sat, 11 Jul 2015 02:49:18 +0000http://www.ohio.com/sports/cavs/lebron-james-mo-williams-sign-contracts-with-cavaliers-1.607206?localLinksEnabled=false
LAS VEGAS: LeBron James and Mo Williams are officially teammates again. Both signed new deals with the Cavaliers on Friday, bringing the total number of players under contract to 10.

Terms were not disclosed, but a source with knowledge of the agreements said James signed a two-year deal (player option on the second year) worth about $23 million this season. Williams signed a two-year, $4.3 million deal that also includes a player option for the second year. The source spoke on condition of anonymity since the contract figures weren’t disclosed.

“LeBron’s re-signing today is a reflection and continuation of his strong, personal commitment to help deliver championships to Northeast Ohio and Cavs fans everywhere,” General Manager David Griffin said in a release. “We share this deep level of commitment with him. His impact upon this team, his community and the game are impossible to overstate and we look forward to continuing on our mission together.”

James signed his deal Friday, only hours before the red carpet premiere of his Hollywood film Trainwreck, which also debuted in Akron. He returned to the Cavs last summer intent on bringing a championship to Northeast Ohio and he came within two NBA Finals victories of doing so. Griffin said after the season the goal was to retain the nucleus of that team and he has done so.

Although the Cavs have 10 players under contract, one of them is Brendan Haywood, who isn’t expected to be around much longer since his $10.5 million deal becomes guaranteed Aug. 1. It also doesn’t include Matthew Dellavedova, Tristan Thompson and J.R. Smith, the three final pieces from last year’s core who remain unsigned. Thompson and Dellavedova are restricted free agents, while Smith is unrestricted.

Williams spent parts of three seasons in Cleveland and is now returning to the franchise after he was traded away in 2011 in a deal that ultimately produced Kyrie Irving. Williams has averaged 16.2 points, 5.1 assists and made an All-Star game with the Cavs in 2009. He was one of six players in the league last season, along with Irving, to score at least 50 points in a game.

“Mo is a proven, high-caliber playmaker,” Griffin said in a release. “His ability to space the floor at either guard position will be essential for us.”

The Cavs were scheduled to open their summer league season Friday night against the Golden State Warriors, although the only players on the roster with a legitimate chance to make the team would seem to be Joe Harris and Rakeem Christmas, the second-round pick from Syracuse.

Even wing Sir’Dominic Pointer, selected 53rd overall last month, will face long odds to make the team, particularly if the Cavs add another wing in free agency.

LAS VEGAS: LeBron James and Mo Williams are officially teammates again. Both signed new deals with the Cavs on Friday, giving them 10 players under contract for next season.

Terms were not disclosed, but a source with knowledge of the situation said James signed a two-year deal (player option on the second year) worth about $23 million this season. Williams signed a two-year, $4.3 million deal that also includes a player option for the second year.

“LeBron’s re-signing today is a reflection and continuation of his strong, personal commitment to help deliver championships to Northeast Ohio and Cavs fans everywhere,” general manager David Griffin said in a release. “We share this deep level of commitment with him. His impact upon this team, his community and the game are impossible to overstate and we look forward to continuing on our mission together.

Williams is returning to the franchise after he was traded away in 2011 in a deal that ultimately brought Kyrie Irving to Cleveland.

“Mo is a proven, high-caliber playmaker,” Griffin said in a release. “His ability to space the floor at either guard position will be essential for us.”

Although the Cavs have 10 players under contract, one of those includes Brendan Haywood, who isn’t expected to be on the team for much longer. It also doesn’t include Matthew Dellavedova, Tristan Thompson and J.R. Smith, the three final pieces from last year’s core who remain unsigned. Thompson and Dellavedova are restricted free agents, while Smith is unrestricted.

]]>1.607101Fri, 10 Jul 2015 19:13:00 +0000http://www.ohio.com/sports/cavs/lebron-james-informs-cavaliers-he-s-ready-to-sign-kevin-love-iman-shumpert-ink-new-deals-1.606857?localLinksEnabled=false
The first day players could sign contracts proved busy for the Cavaliers. Kevin Love and Iman Shumpert both signed their new contracts Thursday, and LeBron James informed the team he’s ready to sign when they are.

None of those moves were surprising, but the amount of money Dan Gilbert is spending this summer is still staggering. Love’s deal is worth about $113 million under the new cap, while Shumpert will get $40 million over the next four years. Add in James’ deal, worth nearly $23 million once the Cavs draw up the papers, and the Cavs spent roughly $176 million to retain three of their own key free agents.

And there are more coming.

The Cavs still have to come to terms with Tristan Thompson. Talks between the two sides reportedly stalled, although Thompson is expected to fetch at least $80 million with his new deal.

James informing the Cavs he’s ready to sign a one-year deal with a player option on a second year was at least mildly surprising after it was reported he wouldn’t sign until all of the other free agents had new deals. That included Thompson, who is still without a deal.

James’ eagerness to sign chipped away at least part of the leverage Thompson had, since the two share the same agent in Rich Paul. Thompson doesn’t have many moves to make unless he’s willing to sign a qualifying offer worth only about $7 million — a fraction of the money he can get from the Cavs this summer. Thompson would become an unrestricted free agent next year if he were to accept the qualifying offer, but that doesn’t seem likely at this point.

With the Portland Trail Blazers extending an offer sheet to restricted free agent Enes Kanter and the Dallas Mavericks — who were spurned by DeAndre Jordan at the last minute prior to the start of free agency — trading with the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday for Zaza Pachulia, no team left in the league can offer Thompson the type of money the Cavs can.

Ultimately, Thompson and the Cavs are expected to come to terms on a new contract, leaving restricted free agent Matthew Dellavedova and unrestricted free agent J.R. Smith as the only two remaining core pieces from last season not yet under contract.

Love informed the Cavs on July 1, the first day of the new NBA season, he was returning. He made it official by signing a five-year contract on Thursday, the same day he released a video on the Players Tribune website discussing his decision. The agency that represents Love, Excel Sports, has a stake in the Players Tribune. In the video, Love said he had open discussions with coach David Blatt, General Manager David Griffin and James before ultimately choosing Cleveland in what he described as “the biggest decision of my life to this point.”

“I had mentioned to [Griffin and Blatt] during the meeting that I was gonna reach out to LeBron and I did; he happened to be in Los Angeles the same time I was. So we just talked everything out and a lot of stuff was very honest and we came to a really good place and we agreed on a lot of things,” Love said, referring to the now-infamous poolside chat. “I think that was also a very big deal when you’re talking to the best player in the world.

“A few days later, 12:01[a.m.], free agency, July 1st, I get a call from General Manager David Griffin and you know the rest is history from there.”

Love said he consulted with James on what to do in free agency, but kept reflecting back to watching the Golden State Warriors celebrating after their Game 6 victory and knew he wanted to return to try for a title of his own.

“Every time I went through the different scenarios, I always came out at the same place — and that was to be in Cleveland and try to win championships,” Love said. “I would be able to really help this team win and going forward make a very big impact on this team and on this city, trying to bring a championship or championships.”

Joe Harris and rookie draft picks Rakeem Christmas and Sir’Dominic Porter highlight the Cavs’ summer league roster, released Tuesday. The team will be coached by Cavs assistant Bret Brielmaier.

Harris appeared in 51 games last season as a rookie for the Cavs, averaging 2.7 points and shooting 37 percent from 3-point range. Christmas was selected in the second round out of Syracuse (36th overall) while Pointer was drafted 53rd overall in the second round.

The only player drafted in the first round on the Cavs’ summer league roster is D.J. White, who is 28 now and was drafted 29th overall in 2008.

Unlike past years, it will be nearly impossible for any of the summer league invites to make the Cavs’ final 15-man roster. Of all the summer invites, the most noteworthy might be Cook, the undrafted senior guard out of Duke. He is also playing for the Oklahoma City Thunder during the Orlando summer league this week.

The Cavs open summer league Friday against the Golden State Warriors. They will play the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday and the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday before getting seeded for the tournament. All of the games can be seen on NBA TV.

The Cavaliers have reunited with point guard Mo Williams, a league source confirmed, on a two-year deal worth $4.3 million. The second year is a player option. Yahoo Sports first reported the deal between Williams and the Cavs.

Williams spent parts of three seasons in Cleveland and even made an All-Star team playing for the Cavs. He was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers at the trade deadline in 2011 in a deal that ultimately brought Kyrie Irving to Cleveland. Now Williams, 32, will serve as Irving’s backup.

The Cavs have spent months trying to upgrade the backup point guard position. They considered Williams at the trade deadline, but had limited assets to acquire him. They wanted a more offensive-minded backup and found one in Williams, who has averaged 13.4 points and was one of six players to score at least 50 points in a game last season.

Williams, of course, is reuniting with LeBron James. Williams took James’ departure in 2010 among the hardest.

The Cavs are still negotiating with Matthew Dellavedova, who could serve as the third point guard behind Irving and Williams. Dellavedova is a restricted free agent.

Based on the contract figures in the Yahoo report, the Cavs signed Williams using part of their midlevel exception, worth about $3.3 million.

]]>1.605961Tue, 7 Jul 2015 04:46:00 +0000http://www.ohio.com/sports/cavs/cavaliers-reunite-with-point-guard-mo-williams-1.605964?localLinksEnabled=false
Mo Williams once told LeBron James, through Twitter, they could’ve won a title in Cleveland.

Now he’s getting a second chance.

The Cavaliers have reunited with Williams, a league source confirmed late Monday night after the two sides agreed on a two-year, $4.3 million deal that includes a player option. The Cavs used part of their taxpayer’s midlevel exception to sign Williams and now have about $1.3 million left over — roughly the equivalent to a league minimum contract, depending on a player’s service time.

Williams spent parts of three seasons in Cleveland and even made an All-Star team playing for the Cavs. He was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers at the trade deadline in 2011 in a deal that ultimately brought Kyrie Irving to Cleveland. Now Williams, 32, will serve as Irving’s backup.

Williams, of course, is reuniting with James. The two were close during James’ first stint here and Williams took James’ departure in 2010 among the hardest, processing his decision to leave for Miami in a series of tweets.

“I can’t believe this is really real. This is surreal. So many emotions on one man decision,” Williams wrote in the hours after James’ departure. “We could have got it done here and u would have enjoyed it in cle a whole lot more.”

Williams and James bumped into each other later that summer unexpectedly at the airport when Williams’ flight was delayed four hours. The two had a chance to clear the air, leading to this rare reunion.

The Cavs have spent months trying to upgrade the backup point guard position. They considered Williams at February’s trade deadline, but had limited assets to acquire him. They wanted a more offensive-minded backup and found one in Williams, who has scored more than 10,000 points in his career and averaged 14.2 points last season with the Charlotte Hornets and Minnesota Timberwolves.

He was one of six players last season to score at least 50 points in a game, joining a short list that included Irving, Klay Thompson, Steph Curry, James Harden and Russell Westbrook.

Williams was an All-Star for the Cavs in 2009, when he averaged 17.8 points and 4.1 assists. He was widely considered the Cavs’ second-best player from 2008-10, but faded in the postseason when he struggled to shoot 41 percent, including 36 percent from 3-point range. Now he won’t be asked to carry as heavy of a load.

The Cavs are still negotiating with Matthew Dellavedova, who could serve as the third point guard behind Irving and Williams. Dellavedova is a restricted free agent.